


Will You Be My Valentine?

by elderwhizzer



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Idk if Whizzer was actually in hospital on Valentine's Day let's just pretend he was, Will you be my Valentiiiiiiiine?, i need to stop™, this is sad i'm sorry, whizzer's in the hospital
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 12:15:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11920713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elderwhizzer/pseuds/elderwhizzer
Summary: Whizzer's bedridden and stuck in hospital. Marvin has an important question to ask him.





	Will You Be My Valentine?

**Author's Note:**

> I cried while writing this. Oops.

Marvin hated leaving Whizzer alone in the hospital. That was why he ignored Whizzer's frequent protests and pleas for him to go home, choosing instead to curl up with Whizzer in his narrow hospital bed until a member of hospital staff caught him and forced him to leave. Marvin had been especially determined to stay last night, but Charlotte had ordered him to go home and get some rest. So he'd reluctantly gone home, though he didn't exactly get much sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about how he'd left Whizzer behind, in pain and alone, in a cold, unfeeling hospital room that smelt too much like disinfectant and chemicals to feel remotely homely. He tossed and turned restlessly all night. This bed was far too cold and far too big without Whizzer in it.

He barely dragged himself out of bed in the morning. He'd only had about an hour of sleep, and he knew he must have huge, dark shadows under his eyes which would just make Whizzer anxious and concerned about him, but he couldn't worry about that right now. On the way in to the hospital, he bought a bunch of red roses to give to Whizzer. Because today was Valentine’s Day - the obligatory, slightly pointless day where you're meant to express your love for your other half. It was a day where you were supposed to go out on dates and buy each other things and go on romantic walks and do a million other things to say ‘I love you.’ The romantic walks and the dates were out of the question this year, but Marvin could at least give Whizzer some of his favourite flowers to make up for it. At the very least, maybe the flowers would brighten up the hospital room.

When Marvin entered Whizzer's room, Whizzer was half-asleep. He gave Marvin a drowsy greeting and a yawn, shifting into a more upright position. Marvin's hands were clammy and sweaty around the flowers he was clutching, even though it was actually quite cold in this room. A little too cold. He wiped his palms on his jeans and made a mental note to tell Charlotte to turn up the temperature in here.

Upon seeing the flowers, Whizzer raised an eyebrow. As far as he knew, today was just an ordinary day, and considering that once upon a time he'd had to beg Marvin for a gift or flowers the idea of Marvin buying him roses _for no reason_ felt a little far-fetched. Whizzer may have been sick, dying even, but the world hadn't turned _completely_ upside down, had it? No, he decided. Today must have been a special day and it had just slipped his mind. A lot of things were slipping his mind lately.

“What's the special occasion? Is it my birthday?” Whizzer questioned sleepily. Marvin ignored the question, tucking the flowers into an empty vase.   
“Seriously, Marvin, what's going on?” Whizzer was starting to feel a little concerned by Marvin's silence. First he showed up with a bunch of roses, and now he wouldn't even talk to Whizzer? For a second, Whizzer wondered wildly if he had died in his sleep and Marvin was leaving roses as a memorial. He quickly dismissed the thought, telling himself off for thinking so morbidly. He'd chastised Marvin about getting morbid multiple times before; it seemed like Marvin’s negativity might have started rubbing off on him.

Marvin glanced over his shoulder at Whizzer. He was looking bewildered, and vaguely alarmed. Months ago, his genuinely confused expression would have been comical; it would have had Marvin reaching for a camera to capture it (both to laugh at it and to use it as blackmail material). He didn't feel like laughing now. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd really smiled, let alone laughed. And Whizzer was clearly getting worried; the last thing he wanted was to give Whizzer a reason to stress. He worried enough about Marvin as it was. Plucking a singular rose from the vase, Marvin turned around and smiled weakly. Holding the flower out to Whizzer, he asked, “Whizzer Brown, will you be my Valentine?  
“What?” Whatever Whizzer had been expecting, it wasn't that. He wasn't really keeping track of the days any more, so until now he hadn't realised that Valentine’s Day might be close.

“It's Valentine’s Day today. Will you be mine?” Marvin repeated hopefully. Whizzer returned Marvin’s (very forced) smile, and took the rose from him. He patted the bed with his free hand, beckoning Marvin to lie down with him. Marvin complied, and Whizzer rested his head on Marvin’s shoulder, one hand laying on Marvin's chest.

“I thought you hated Valentine’s Day.” Whizzer said. That was true enough, Marvin supposed. He had complained about how pointless Valentine’s Day was a million times before (what was the point of a day where you unnecessarily spend money to display your love when you should be expressing that love all year around?) But since Whizzer had gotten sick, he'd realised that tomorrow was never guaranteed, so he had to make the best of every minute they had together. This may have been the last Valentine’s Day they got to spend together, and Marvin knew it, though he was trying very hard not to think about that. Just thinking of Whizzer leaving and never coming back made him want to cry. When he spoke again, his voice cracked slightly, although he tried his best to keep it steady and controlled. “Well, we never really got to do Valentine’s Day together before.” Marvin pointed out shakily. Whizzer nodded, like he understood Marvin’s reasoning. There was a look in his eyes that made Marvin think that Whizzer heard his unspoken thoughts too; ‘ _we never really got to do Valentine's Day together before, and we might never get to have another one again'._

Then Whizzer’s brows furrowed. “We kind of did do Valentine’s.” he reasoned. For a second, Marvin was too distracted to get what he was saying. _Good job_ , he chided himself, _you were too busy thinking about your lover dying to actually listen to said lover while he's still here_. After a moment, he realised that Whizzer was referring to the time they'd spent Valentine's together and it had been disastrous. Remembering that day, Marvin smiled genuinely for the first time in ages. “I'm not counting that one.”  
“What, because it ended in a huge fight and I almost threw a shoe at your head?” Whizzer laughed at the memory. His chuckles soon died, though, as his chest constricted and a coughing fit came over him. Nasty, hacking coughs that left him breathless. He felt Marvin shift in alarm, pressing his hand against Whizzer’s cheek (though whether it was for comfort or to check his temperature, Whizzer wasn't sure) and helplessly holding him, praying the coughing would pass and Whizzer would be alright.

Eventually, the coughing eased up and Whizzer felt the tension leave Marvin, his whole body relaxing. They just lay there in silence, because what could they say? How do you react when you can't even relax or smile or laugh with the person you love most without being forcibly reminded that you will soon be separated forever? Whizzer meant to comfort Marvin, calm him and tell him everything would be alright. But how can you tell someone that everything will be alright if you don't even believe it yourself? So he didn't attempt to pretend or even try to speak. He just lay there and let his steady heartbeat and breathing convey to Marvin what he couldn't convey with words: _I am here with you now, and I'm not going anywhere. Not yet._

It was actually Marvin who broke the silence, to Whizzer's surprise. “As I recall, you did throw that shoe at my head.” Marvin stated with a weak chuckle. Whizzer laughed again, though, mercifully, no coughing followed this time. “You were being pretty infuriating.” he said, as if that justified hurling an item of footwear at someone's face. He didn't actually remember what that particular fight had been about, but knowing Marvin it was likely that he had just rubbed Whizzer up the wrong way. He was very, very good at doing that.

“I'm sure I was being infuriating.” Marvin conceded. “But you still haven't answered my question.” Whizzer couldn't see his face, but he could imagine what his expression looked like - he was probably gazing longingly down at Whizzer, hoping that he would agree to being Marvin’s Valentine, as if something like that actually mattered. But he knew that Marvin was clinging onto any tiny hope or spark of happiness that he could get right now, and if Whizzer agreeing to be his stupid Valentine would cheer him up, then Whizzer was willing to do it. So he tilted his head up to look at Marvin (he had been correct about Marvin’s hopeful, longing expression) and said with a sincere smile, “Yes, I’ll be your Valentine.” Marvin gave him a grateful half-smile and kissed his forehead, a silent ‘thank you’.

At least Marvin seemed to have cheered up. If Whizzer had to force a laugh or tell stupid jokes to make Marvin happy, then that's what he would do. It was worth it to see his lover smile and laugh, carefree and genuine. It was worth it if it got Marvin to allow himself some brief happiness despite what has happening. Mostly, he loved hearing Marvin laugh at his jokes and comments because it reminded him of the time when they were happy and healthy and content to be together, before everything went wrong. Whizzer wanted to return to that; him making sarcastic remarks and cracking jokes, Marvin groaning or laughing breathlessly into his chest, and neither of them worried or scared about the future.

“Are you going to take me out on a hot date, then?” Whizzer quipped. There was so much of his old flirtatious, carefree confidence in his voice that for a second Marvin could forget how much had changed. He nodded mock-seriously. “Absolutely.” he agreed. “If you're lucky, I might even take you to that chair next to your bed.” Whizzer snorted at his comment, smiling into Marvin’s chest.

“I love you.” Whizzer murmured, a half-smile still there on his face. Marvin’s hand, which had been stroking and playing with the strands of hair that had escaped from Whizzer’s hat, stilled. In fact, his whole body went very still. Whizzer closed his eyes and found Marvin's hand under the covers, clinging onto it tightly. He brought Marvin's hand to his mouth and tenderly kissed the back of his hand. Marvin's hand was shaking. The rest of his body had started shaking too; Whizzer could feel Marvin's chest heaving beneath him.

For a second, Whizzer thought Marvin was laughing, but then he looked up.

Marvin wasn't laughing. Marvin was crying. Crying so hard his whole body was shaking. When he saw Whizzer looking up at him, he tried to dry his eyes and put on a brave face, but just the sight of Whizzer's sad, helpless expression set him off again. Whizzer averted his eyes, turning his head down and nestling into Marvin's baggy sweatshirt. He toyed with the string, fiddling distractedly just because he was at a loss for anything else to do. Marvin recognised that. Whizzer always fidgeted or got distracted when he felt helpless or didn't know what to do with himself. That made Marvin feel even worse. He didn't want Whizzer to feel anxious or helpless. He didn't want to upset Whizzer, of course he didn't, but he couldn't help breaking down every time he was reminded that he'd have to live without his lover soon. There would never be someone to lay with him, someone to play with his hair or nag him over his clothes or boss him around or laugh at his stupid jokes. Soon, he would never hear Whizzer say ‘I love you’ again. Once, those three words made Marvin smile like crazy, but now they just felt like… a eulogy.

Marvin remembered the last time he had asked Whizzer to be his Valentine; he remembered how Whizzer had tried and failed to hide his wide, genuine smile. That felt like a million years ago. Now Whizzer had agreed to be his Valentine again. They were on the same page this time around - they both knew they loved each other unconditionally - and Marvin would ordinarily be insanely happy right now. He laughed bitterly at that. Why had they wasted so much time? They couldn't ever get that time back now. Now he was crying and laughing at the same time. Whizzer probably thought he was mad for laughing in the middle of a breakdown, and yet he couldn't stop himself. His chest felt tight and painful. He wondered if that was what Whizzer felt like all the time.

That thought only made him cry more.

He thought that Whizzer might have been crying a little bit too.

He kissed Whizzer's head tenderly. They were both tearful and hurting and terrified. But they had today. They had one last Valentine's Day. So Marvin just held onto Whizzer, as tightly as he could without hurting him, and let himself cry.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Marvin whispered through his tears, not really caring when his voice cracked and broke.  
“Happy Valentine's.” Whizzer softly murmured back.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if there are any errors!  
> Comments are always appreciated!! (Even if you're just pointing out how bad this is)


End file.
